The Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps each acquired an English Premier League veteran last week and the rival Seattle Sounders followed suit on Saturday, signing former Liverpool defender Djimi Traore.

The 32-year-old native of France has been a free agent since last summer. Terms of the contract weren’t disclosed.

"Djimi has a great deal of experience and has played in the top leagues in Europe," Sounders sporting director Chris Henderson said in a statement. "He's a very good defender and makes smart decisions with the ball coming out the back. Djimi brings us confidence and leadership in the back."

Traore spent 16 years with clubs in England and France and won the 2005 UEFA Champions League title at Liverpool, playing left back for all 120 minutes of the now-legendary final against AC Milan.

He spent six-plus seasons at Anfield before moving on to Charlton Athletic, Portsmouth, Stade Rennais, Birmingham City, AS Monaco and finally Olympique Marseille, where he played in 2011-12.

Traore was born in suburban Paris but represented Mali internationally. He’ll fill out the EPL trio in the Pacific Northwest, following English midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker (Vancouver) and French defender Mikael Silvestre (Portland) to MLS.

Seattle’s primary defensive loss following the 2012 MLS campaign was Jeff Parke, a central defender who was traded to the Philadelphia Union in December.